Re-Discovery
by Ace-Attorney-Tee
Summary: Armin realizes that he knows nothing about the platinum blonde girl he's known for so long, and makes it a mission to uncover everything about her- much to her dismay. Older!Aruani AU, rated K (for now huehuehue) There's romance, and humor, I guess? Currently in progress. I don't own any of the characters from the series, I just write the cute stories.
1. Introductions

An older version of the babies I hold so dearly~ I **do not own them**, but I can smush their faces together in an attempt to make it canon (too late ;^; )

Get ready for a world of mixed feelings, folks!

* * *

><p><em>"That's it, drop and give me twenty!"<em>

General Leonhardt was the toughest instructor around. She taught well, presumably meant well, and had the toughest soldiers, but she was ruthlessly strict. If you had been so lucky as to have her as your instructor, you might not even survive. The majority of her students dropped out, but the remainder was strong, hard willed, and ready for anything. There was a lot of controversy over her methods, but no one could deny that they were effective.

_ "And if you look here, you'll notice..."_

General Arlert, however, wasn't so harsh. He mostly taught inside the classroom, but he also had excellent insight on the field, He was an amazing strategist, though not as gifted in the physical department as Leonhardt. He was kind, forgiving, and easily flustered- some called this being a "pushover".

These two, seniors of the Military Police and Scout Regiment respectively, were very gifted leaders. Polar opposites in both ideals and methods, these two were paired up for conjoined training so each could cover the subject the other lacked in. This kind of training was recently introduced, and proved to be very successful, though the instructors themselves didn't quite enjoy the process.

"Annie, can we talk for a moment?" Although the two had known each other for- what, 13 years- Leonhardt wasn't used to the informal address anymore.  
>"What is it, Arlert?" On the contrary (as usual), Arlert winced at the cold way she addressed him.<p>

"I want to talk about the recruits- specifically your disciplinary measures. Don't you think you're being a little too..." Armin began, but immediately regretted it. He most certainly _did _have a problem with it, but the icy glare Annie was giving him when he looked up from his feet made him squirm a bit.  
>"...harsh on them?" He finished, his voice slowly lowering in volume as the adrenaline flowed out of his mind.<p>

Annie snorted, and shifted her weight onto one leg. "Not really. It gets them to listen, unlike your methods."

"B-But you're pushing them beyond their limits! Some of them don't even make it to their graduation!"

"Well, if they couldn't survive training, how could I expect them to live as soldiers? If they don't learn to live, they shouldn't have applied."

Armin was taken aback by that response, along with the deadpan stare that came with it. She was **serious** about this! He couldn't believe that she could bare treating recruits like that, let alone any human being- she had to be joking!

"Annie, you can't possibly mean that!"

"Oh, really? And why is that?"

...Or had she?

"We-Well, I don't believe y-...you're not that..."

Come to think of it, Armin could never tell how she thought, or what she was thinking. She was always distant, cold, and wasn't too keen on talking about herself, let alone anything. This plan was going downhill fast.

"Not that what?" Annie questioned suspiciously, raising an eyebrow.

"..." All Armin could do was stare a the ground, shifting his feet and muttering curses. _Why, why me? I just can't bear to see cadets in so much pain, but...it does work, and...ugh, why did I have to open my mouth?_

Annie let out a sound that almost sounded like a chuckle, making Armin look up immediately. "Oh, Arlert." She shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. "When will you learn. I'm not some happy-go-lucky girl, like you think I am. Honestly, I thought you were smarter than that."

_Ouch._

"Now come on, we have cadets to train." She gave Armin a look full of mock-pity as she started to walk off, leaving Armin to stand there, collecting his thoughts.


	2. Wonder

Time had passed between the two teacher's brief argument. Both of their feelings remained the same as they had been, but Armin wanted to avoid anymore awkward conflict, and he needed more time to gather his thoughts and evidence to retaliate, in a last-ditch attempt to get his feelings across to Annie. He knew she wasn't one for the "feelings" troupe, but he thought maybe, if he just got to know her better, he could pull this off somehow.

Annie, however, was thinking about other things. Her feelings towards Armin were always of a sort of respect- of course, she didn't like the way he carried himself, or how he fought, or dealt with situations, but the way he could think through problems, use strategy and plan efficiently was an admirable trait in her eyes. Of course, she couldn't feel any more complacent about the way he thought of her and her training...or that's what she'd have herself believe. Buried deep in her mind was a worry and concern of his feelings toward her, and if she could be seen as a respectable authority in his eyes the way she had seen him. These thoughts were immediately pushed back every time they surfaced, though, and dismissed as weak and wrong. _Why should I care about how anyone else thinks of me,_ she would think to herself, _especially that featherweight Arlert. You're getting too soft, Annie. _

Annie always hoped that Armin would never find these hidden fears, let alone even try, but she knew of how keen he was, and only braced herself for the inevitable, even for all these years. And, of course, Armin was not one to push, especially with matters so delicate, but he always wanted to know what was behind her eyes, what was going on in her mind, and what she thought of the world around her. He usually thought of this wonder as just his natural curiosity, but he was having suspicions as to if it was something more, something that had more to do with _her._

During a lunch break, Armin noticed Annie heading to her quarters instead of joining the rest of seniors in their designated cafeteria. He was tempted to follow her, to talk with her whilst no one else was there, so they could bond faster. Armin knew that she hated talking about herself (mostly from past attempts), but he hoped being my themselves would make things easier. He made up a quick excuse to his companions so that he could trail the woman he wanted to know every so badly, but soon started to question his more-than-conspicuous behavior. _I feel a little silly, going to such lengths to know more about her, but...I feel like I _have _to._

A knock on Annie's door made her jump a little in her seat. She whipped her head to the door, expecting the worst, but it never came.  
>Another light <em>knock<em> came, and she slowly stood up to answer it. She reached for the door handle, but for good measure, put her ear up to the door to see if she could hear anything that sounded off-putting. But from the other side of the door, she could only hear light breathing and the shifting of clothes. She drew her head back from the door, and stood to her full height as she swung the door open.

"A-Arlert?"

* * *

><p>Sorry for a short-looking chapter! It just doesn't have a lot of inter-changing dialogue this time around. I promise the next chapter will though!<p> 


	3. Starting Over

So, sorry this took a little while! I've been busy for a week or two, and frankly haven't had the time to update. But, here I am! And this chapter does indeed have more dialogue in it than the last chapter, as promised. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>"A-Arlert?"<p>

The golden haired man looked at Annie as if he was surprised she'd opened the door. His face turned a little pink as he spoke up,  
>"Hi, Annie. Mind if I j-join you?" He squirmed and blushed, but kept looking straight at Annie. <em>He looks just like a child<em>, she mused.

"...Sure, come in." Annie replied, unsure of how this would turn out. Armin sighed and walked in, sitting down on a chair in the corner. She closed the door, looking around to see if this was some kind of experiment, or test. After a few seconds, her guest giggled.

"Don't worry, I came alone." _Even if I had offered for others to come, they most likely wouldn't have. _Armin's eyes lowered as he thought this, and he pushed a few locks of hair behind his ear.

Annie closed the door slowly, and sat back down on her bed. "So, did you come here to ask me something, or what?" She turned her attention to Armin, and he jumped a little at her voice.

"No, actually, I just kind of wanted to, you know...hang out? Is that what the kids say?" He joked.

Annie was taken aback- both by the lame use of slang _and_ his reason for being here- and blushed a little. She whipped her head away, looking instead at the door, so she could think. _He wants to...and with me...? Why? Should I be...happy?_ She was panicked mentally, but her face stayed the same stoic expression, if not a little bit exasperated. After a couple seconds, she finally gathered the courage to look at him again, his face smiling- wait, _smiling?_

"I- What's that look about?" She huffed.

Armin's face immediately flushed, and he stuttered as he spoke. "O-oh, I...uh, I was just th-thinking is all. Yeah, just thinking." he gulped down his panic, and sighed as he calmed down. _Jeez, Arlert, what are you doing? You can't just stare like that, idiot._ He berated himself as if he was still a child, but to him, when it came down to her, he would always be that naive 15 year old he was when he first met her. She had captured his heart then, and those feelings were still tucked away. Now that they had a chance to emerge, they were back in full swing, much to Armin's distress.

"...Alright." was her response. She was still a little suspicious of him, but when she looked at him as he was blushing and squirming under her gaze, she couldn't help but to stifle a small giggle. She sighed dismissively, and continued eating. The pregnant pause that followed wasn't as awkward as Annie had expected it to be, as quiet as it was in her room it also felt natural to her. Perhaps just a little different with her guest, but welcome nonetheless._  
><em>

Armin on the other hand, was searching for some way to break the ice- rather, break it again. He could remember a situation like this before, creating an excuse to sit by her when they were trainees, trying to find a topic he thought may be interesting to her, even on some occasions hoping to impress her, let alone get any expression besides boredom on her face. Though, after a while, he _did_ pick up on some of her cues, like how her lips twitched when she was interested, or how she would cross her legs when she was angry, or..._Oh god, I sound like some sort of stalker._ He hadn't realized how much he'd payed attention to her until he thought about it. _Maybe I should just calm down, and...start over._ Yes, start over. It had been so long, he needed to get to know her all over again. To re-discover all those little things about her. He might now be fully in love with her now, but god damn if he wasn't going to try again._  
><em>

Annie noticed out of the corner of her eye that Armin had stood up, and was walking towards her place on the bed. She looked up as he stood over her, a hand extended out in front of her. He smiled as she took his hand, and he shook his firmly. Annie realized what he was doing, and played along, though she was confused. Looking up from her hand to see Armin's face, she saw that he was smiling, his head slightly tilted to the side and his eyes closed. Her eyes widened as she became even more confused as to just what he was doing. 

"Hello, my name is Armin Arlert. Your name is?"

...Introducing himself?

"Leonhardt. Annie Leonhardt." She exchanged.

He opened his eyes to look into hers. She was obviously confused, but he could understand that. He let go of her hand, and started to walk out of the door. "I'll be seeing you around, I'm sure." He joked, and as he left, Annie almost wanted to go after him, to demand an explanation. But, somehow...this felt right. She sat back down on her chair, and sighed.

_Just what does he have in mind _this_ time?_


	4. Beginnings

HAHAHA I'M SO BAD AT UPDATING SORRY GUYS

* * *

><p>Annie slowly shifted awake in her bed, the dim light of early dawn flooding into her room. She stirred for a bit before prying herself out of bed and getting ready. She was still a little confused by Armin's last visit. Why had he introduced himself? It's not like they were just meeting for the first time. Though, now that she thought about it, she didn't know much of the man, even though they had known of each other for over a decade. This wasn't very uncommon for her, however- she barely had gotten to know anyone from her original cadet training, not that she cared about the other trainee's lives back then. She couldn't say that she hadn't been curious about what others were like, but she had dismissed those curiosities as unimportant, and instead focused on her training, so not really knowing anyone personally was certainly nothing new. But now, this man Arlert shows up, and introduces himself out of the blue- she almost had no choice but to ask about his reasons. He didn't offer any explanation at the time, and to be frank, she was a little dazed by it, so she hadn't stopped him as he left. Annie had always thought of him as peculiar in that he had different ideals than the rest of the people they knew of, but now- she wasn't sure what to make of him.<p>

Training went by as usual that day, except for the usual bickering between the teachers. Armin and Annie barely spoke to each other, except for a few acknowledgements here and there. Annie could tell that he did look at her several times, however. _Why the hell is he looking at me instead of the cadets? Focus on the students, Arlert._ She silently reprimanded him with a quick glare, and he looked back towards the students they were training. When lunch rolled around, and the students eagerly left for their (albeit short) break, Annie stopped Armin, grabbing him by the shoulder so he spun to look at her. "Ah- uh, hi, Annie!" His voice wavered from shock at the sudden contact, and he turned quickly to look at her.

Annie only glared for a second before asking "What the hell was yesterday about?"

The blonde man blinked, and the brushed his hair back behind his head. "O-oh. Yeah, that's right." His face grew a little redder, and he glanced around the open field. "Well, I uh...I just thought we didn't really know each other well as kids, and...I thought maybe we should start again." Her expression didn't waver as he spoke, so he hurriedly tried to explain himself. "You know, I didn't know much about you, and I- It was the best thing I could think of at the time." He sighed, and his head lowered. "It was pretty weird, but...I feel like I need to get to know you over again. I want us to be friends." He looks at her as he says the last sentence, and Annie's lip twitches a little. _  
><em>

"..._Tch._" was all she could reply with, and her hand released Armin's shoulder and fell back to her side. "Moron." she whispered under her breath, turning away from him to walk to her house. Armin paused for a bit, and considered following her, but he stopped as he heard her call back to him. "Well, aren't you coming? Lunch doesn't last very long these days, you know."

And so, he sat with her in her room again. They chatted idly about whatever- though it was more Armin asking questions and Annie replying with short answers. He still wasn't very comfortable with prying into her life, but he didn't really want to bring up anyone else. He still had contact with Eren and Mikasa, as far as he knew everyone else was doing fine, and he didn't really want to potentially bring back any foul memories. So, they talked there in peace, and got to know each other. Annie wasn't so pleased with the questions he kept asking, but she stilled answered them. _He wants us to be friends,_ she would remember. She wasn't opposed to the idea, but she was soon reminded why she didn't talk with others much. Somehow, though. with Armin, it was different. It was...welcome? Yeah, welcome. That's an ok word.


	5. Winter

And so, they days went by as Armin and Annie began to talk again. It became standard procedure for them to walk together from training to Annie's house, where they would sit and talk about whatever came up. This went on for about 2 months, and as the two got closer, Annie opened up to Armin more, and they bickered less often during training. By this time, however, rumors were already spreading around about their relationship- the rest of the 104th still talking and gossiping as if they were cadets. Armin always thought it to be a miracle that they were all alive and well, still talking together as friends to this day. Frankly, he was surprised the walls were even in tact at this point, but thanks to all the effort put in by the three branches of military, their world was still surviving.

Fall was ending, and winter was approaching. There was less field training, and more inside training, which meant Annie had more time to lounge around, either preparing lesson plans, doing other work, or sometimes just thinking. She liked to think she had everything under control in her life, and that there wasn't much to think about, but whenever she was just sitting around, one thing would always come from the back of her mind.

_...I wonder what Armin and I will talk about today._

These thoughts were almost immediately pushed back to the corner of her brain whenever they surfaced. Annie was an independent woman, and wasn't keen to he idea of anticipating activity with someone else- in other words, she wouldn't outright admit she wanted to talk to Armin. But she had grown more accustomed to Armin tagging along whenever lunch time would roll around, and was becoming more open with him (though not by much). It reminded her of training, when Armin used to talk with her during meal times, or occasionally while during training. He was just about the only person who could hold a conversation with her at the time, and often she was questioned by her curious dorm mates why they were always talking. Annie would just reply with "Why should you care," or not say anything, because she honestly didn't know why herself. But now, here they were again, talking for about an hour each day, for seemingly no reason at all.

It was a regular day, around the end of November. Lunch time had rolled around, and Annie had started walking towards her house, and Armin was quick to follow. Annie's breath flowed out of her mouth as she sighed, and she crossed her arms. Armin looked up at the grey sky. _It is getting colder, huh..._he thought, then glanced back at Annie. _Maybe I could help...No, no! _He frantically shook his thoughts away, almost afraid Annie could tell what he was thinking. She did look cold, but she would probably rip his arm off if he tried anything. She was that kind of person- strong, and unwilling to accept help from others, or ask for that matter. He looked away, and they soon entered Annie's house.

"Tch, it's damn cold outside." Annie whispered under her breath. She looks over at Armin. "I'm going to light the fireplace." she says, and walks into a separate room.

"Don't take too long." Armin yells in her direction, and sits down in the chair adjacent to Annie's bed. He looks outside the window for a bit, and then notices something strange. A small white flake drops down near the window, and his eyes slowly widen as he watches it fall, and then dart to another few flakes. _Snow..._he thinks as he looks up at the clouds again. _...If it snows too hard, field practices will be cancelled._ He turns back to the door that Annie went through, before again turning his attention to the window. _She'll have o stay home, huh...I'm not sure if she'd be upset or happy. _

Annie then walks in with a bundle of firewood and kindling in her arms, and sets it down in front of the fireplace. She tosses the firewood haphazardly into the fireplace, and brushes her hands together before tossing the kindling in before taking out a steel shaft and sharp rock. She strikes them together over the wood, and the sparks eventually make way into flames. Annie steps back before the fire can touch her, and she sets the rock and steel onto the mantle. She sits down on her bed, and pulls out an apple from a pouch.

"...What, 's it snowing out there?" Annie looks over at Armin, and he jolts in his seat and looks over at her, completely unaware of her entering the room and starting a fire.

"A-Annie!" He blurts out, and then sinks back into the chair. "Uh, yeah, it is."

"Wait, are you serious?" She says as she gets up and walks over to the window. "...Shit, it is." She sits back down on the bed, and rests an elbow on her thigh as she slumps over.

"Is that bad?" Armin asked.

"Yeah. Means I have to skip training." She motions to the window as she says "At least, if it keeps up like this."

Armin looks out of the window, and jumps a little when he realizes that the snow has piled up on the ground a good amount. "Wow..." He tries to recall the last time he saw snow falling this hard, and then wonders why he didn't notice it increase as he was watching it. "At this rate, we may be trapped in here." he chuckles.

"Ugh, don't curse us." Annie says, taking a bite of her apple.

Armin laughs again, and shifts in his seat. He imagines what it would be like to be stuck inside with Annie. _...Terribly awkward,_ he sighs and puts his head on his hand.

Annie also wonders what it would be like to be stuck in her house with Armin. _...Not half bad,_ she remarks before quickly stopping her thoughts. _What the HELL, Annie._

* * *

><p>Sorry this chapter is mostly exposition, guys! Advancing the story is hard. But you know what chapter is coming next...OBLIGATORY "OH NO WE'RE STUCK TOGETHER FOR WHO KNOWS HOW LONG" CLICHE! Stay tuned!<p>

Love, your not-good-at-updating writer, Tee


	6. Conversation

Hey guys! How's it going, eh? You know what this chapter calls for...so, I won't keep ya! Thanks for tuning in!

* * *

><p>The snow just wouldn't stop. Armin kept glancing at it every now and then, but this time he did a double-take, realizing that the snow almost reached up to the windowsill. "What in..." He trails off, taking in just how much snow had fallen.<p>

"What's wrong?" Annie got up from her place, and walked over to the window, resting her elbow on the sill. "...Huh," is all she could say as her eyes widened at the sheer amount of snow. She turned to the door, the thought crossing her mind that she might try to open it, but that thought was almost completely wiped away. There was no way in hell she would open that door, it would be impossible to close again. And, as much as she hated to admit it, she hated the cold.

"Should we...?" Armin began, the same thought of opening the door coming up in his mind, but Annie raised her hand to stop him.

"It would be useless." She said, her hand falling back to her side. Her eyes still fixed on the snow, she thought about the consequences of this extreme weather. _I'm not able to open the door, so I'm not going to leave anytime soon. Which means..._She glanced over at Armin, who was looking out the window, seemingly deep in thought. _...Shit._ She walked away from the window, flopping onto her bed. _Shiiiiiiiit. _She let out a long sigh, trying to contain the wave of emotions that was slowly coming over her.

Armin, while not expressing it, was in a similar position, fixing his gaze out the window while trying to calm his own thoughts. _You'll be fine, Armin_, he repeated, _...you're just stuck with the woman you love most for WHO KNOWS HOW LONG OH GOD THIS IS SO AWKWARD WHAT DO I DOOOOO. _He brushed back some of his hair, and closed his eyes, clearing his throat. "Well..." he trailed off, unsure he was ready to say what he was about to. " I guess we're stuck here."

Annie snapped up to look at him, and slumped over. "I suppose so." She looked over to the fireplace, still burning. "At least we still have some warmth."

Armin sighs. "Yeah, I just...hope that everyone else is alright." _And I hope that I'LL be alright, sitting here with the love of my life for until this snow melts. _"Well, what are we to do now, eh?" He looks toward Annie, who sitting on the side of the bed, looking down at the floor. "There's gotta be something we can do to pass the time."

_Don't look at me like that and say that at the same time,_ Annie scolds silently. "I don't have much in the way of activities or anything, so..." Annie trails off, thinking of anything they could possibly do to take the awkwardness out of this situation.

"...How has your life been?"

"Eh?" Armin stutters, shocked.

"How have you been?" Annie looks away from him, at the wall. "We didn't speak to each other much after we went in different factions, and we've only been teaching together for a year or so. How was your life when we didn't see each other?"

"Uh..." Armin had to stop and think for a second. _This is weird, for her..._She was looking away, maybe blushing. It was...cute. "Good, I suppose. Eren and Mikasa got stronger, and Mikasa's been pretty successful. They seem happy to-"

"I asked about you." Annie's gaze remains fixed on the wall adjacent to the bed.

"A-Ah, right." Armin scratches his neck and turns away. "I've been pretty well. I'm in a pretty good position, as you know. I mean, I'm getting to see more of the outside, so I'm happy."

"That's nice."

Armin can sense a bit of happiness in her voice, but he shakes off the thought. "What about you, Annie?"

Annie jumps a little, and turns to look at him. "...Not much," she begins, trying to remember anything of importance in her life, "I've just been doing the same thing now, and the higher ups apparently liked it, so now I'm a general."

"Have you been talking to any other of our old classmates?" _This might be a dangerous topic to bring up, but...I remember she was with Reiner and Bertholdt more often than not, _Armin contemplates.

"No."

"O-Oh." He jumps at her sharp answer, and readjusts in his chair.

"It's..." Annie sighs, slowly moving herself so that she's resting her back on the end of her bed. "It's alright."

"...Do you still have that book?"

Again, Armin is momentarily left wordless. "Huh?"

"That book you always had. It had these...fanciful pictures of places I've never seen. It was pretty." Annie looks up, lost in thought...and after realizing what she said she blushes. "Interesting, I mean. Interesting."

Armin giggles a little bit. "Oh, I still have that. It's been awhile since I've looked at it, though. You liked it that much?" he smiles at her, and her face gets redder.

"I will kick you outside, Arlert."

"I understand," he laughs.

As time moves on, their conversation continues as they drift from topic to topic. Midday turned to evening, until the sun set, but neither of the two noticed, or cared. They spent that day talking, laughing (though mostly on Armin's part), and grew closer with each moment, until they were sitting right next to each other on the floor. Both of them were happy with each other's company, and didn't mind the snow slowly rising above the windowsill outside. Eventually, they fell asleep, tired from a day spent inside with each other.

Sun barely shown from the window, coming from behind the overcast sky. The snow had melted to a level that would be okay to walk through,but training would most likely be cancelled for that day anyway. Annie shifted on her bed, and eventually propped herself up, raising her arms and stretching her back. Her vision slowly returned to normal, glancing around her small room. Every thing was in order, for the most part. Her clothes were still on, straps and all. _Weird, I...oh, right. Arlert was over, and we were talking. I-_ She stops as she looks down, right next to where she was sleeping, and freezes.

..._Oh god. Oh no, what the hell, what the fuck, why is HE IN MY BED-_ She jumps and begins to freak out, shaking and blushing wildly. Armin was lying there in her bed, clothed (_thank god_) like herself. She kicks off her covers and slides out of bed, being careful not to wake him up so that he doesn't freak out as well. She looks out the window to gauge the time. _...9 AM,_ she guesses, which is a good time for her to leave this situation and maybe do some paperwork or something, any way to get away from that bed. As she straightens her coat and heads for the door, she turns back towards the sleeping Arlert. _...I'm sure he'll be okay._ She sighs, and makes sure she doesn't look flustered before heading out the door into the calf high snow.

* * *

><p>Okay, I haven't updated in forever! Sorry about that~<p>

Hope you all had a good holiday season! School is back, unfortunately. I'll still be working on the story, and still am, so don't worry! I'm glad for you guys who have supported me, even though I'm not good at timely updates.

Next chapter will start from Armin's POV, and will involve talking, and maybe love? Annie is pretty shaken up, and rest assured Armin will be once he wakes up. Maybe some Annie showing affection will happen, who knows!

See you next chapter~! -Tee


	7. Morning After

Ok, it's been a while since I've been able to touch this story! -.- I'm really sorry about that, guys!

In fact, it's been so long, that I lost a couple little side stories I was working on as a result. I'm not too happy about that. Hopefully I can get everything back on track soon, and get all my drafts to where they were!

So, I had a couple drafts for chapters 7 and 8 on me after I finished 6 on my phone, but...that broke. XP So I can't get in it anymore to access the files! Hopefully I will soon so I can get the draft for chapter 8 back. But, for now, we're flying solo!

Now, let's see how Armin will react waking up~

* * *

><p>"...Mmm...Ah?"<p>

Armin stirs under the light sheets, rubbing his eye as he slowly props himself up on the bed. It takes him a minute to take in his surroundings, and memories from the night before slowly trickle into his mind.

"...What time is it...?" Armin mumbles to himself as he gets himself up out of bed, but before he can get to the window he stops and looks around. "Wha...Oh." He's in Annie's quarters. He slept in..._her_ bed.

Blood immediately rushes to his cheeks as he checks his clothing, the floor around him, and turns himself around to look at the bed. Fully clothed, good. Nothing unusual on the floor, save for some ashes from the fireplace and water around the door. And... "...She's already gone?" He sighs with relief as he now walks to the window to check the time.

"...Oh, crap!" _11 o'clock already?!_ Armin is taken aback for a moment at how late in the morning it is, before rushing out the door, not stopping to think about tidying up the place before he leaves. The snow isn't that thick, but it makes rushing a little difficult, so he eases up on his pace, making his route the fastest possible to the military headquarters. It should be open even if there's no training, and it gets him out of staying at Annie's quarters alone.

_...I wonder why Annie went off to work._ Armin's mind travels as he looks around at the snow covered buildings. _It's not like she has anything to do._ He sighs, his breath forming a cloud in front of him as he recalls the night before. Talking with Annie for so long...it almost seemed like she was beginning to like him. He smiles to himself, thinking of their conversation. Something so normal, so ordinary to some one else, but to him...it meant a lot more. He loved to listen to her talk about anything, and considered himself lucky to hear her go on about something. He remembered how rare it was when they were younger to get any form of conversation out of her, but yet he persisted...He wondered if she could've told that he had a thing for her. A light blush colors Armin's face as he remembers more about their training days. His youth comes back to him, thinking about how she trained, her fighting style, her demeanor, and all the little quirks he picked up on...and how she looked. Her pale hair, always tied up into a lazy bun, bangs covering one eye. He loved to look at her icy blue eyes, half-lidded, and wonder just how her mind worked. He..._Oh, god, I sound like a creep, don't I?_ Armin's face reddens even more as he halts his train of thought, shaking away his feelings from his cadet days.

A ways into his walk, Armin slows down a bit more. Still a little groggy from sleep, he rubs his eyes and catches his breath for a moment. Just as he's about to get walking again, a familiarly loud voice calls out from behind him. "Hey, Armin! Wait up!"

Turning around, Armin's eyes widen as a figure with dark brown hair trots up to him, arm raised in the air and hand waving. As they gets closer, he can see the blaze of bright green eyes and wide smile that bring all his memories rushing back to him. "E-Eren?!"

Eren slows to a halt right in front of Armin, arm flopping down to his side as he beams at him. "What's up, Armin?" Eren pats him roughly on the back before he can protest. "I haven't seen you around in a while! They got you busy with teaching?"

"Hi, Eren." Armin smiles, air almost knocked out of him from Eren's pat. "Well, since it's cold outside we're not doing as much field training, and I'm the one in the classroom, so I get the brunt of the training for right now." He chuckles lightly, reaching up to put his hand on the back of his neck. "Are you busy with expeditions and the like?"

"You better believe it." Eren lets out a sigh mixed with tiredness and fondness. "Even though it's bitter cold out there," he throws his thumb over his shoulder to point at the walls, "we're still scouting and observing outside the walls. We don't get many breaks on the job." He folds his arms and huffs. "But this snowstorm is giving us a little trouble. Hah, you should've seen it, we were out yesterday, and Kirstein almost slipped and fell on his ass when we were out in the forest! It was..." Eren smirks and laughs as he recounts their expedition yesterday. By this time, Armin knows he can space out for a bit, nodding and smiling every so often to let him know he's "listening". He enjoys seeing Eren so passionate about his work, though. It makes him happy that everything's going well for him...Come to think of it, Armin hasn't been outside the walls in a while. He wonders if anything drastic has happened without his knowledge, though, he's sure the military leaders would tell him if something important happened, and most likely call him into battle. Just as he starts to recount his past experiences outside the wall, Eren's sudden expression change snaps Armin out of his thoughts, as he tunes in more carefully to what he's saying. "...Time it is? Mikasa's already at the base, and she'd be pretty upset if I were super late. She'd probably freak and think I was kidnapped or something." He scoffs. "Crazy, huh? She's something. Anyway, wanna walk there together? I know the cadet stations are a little ways away from the scouting base, but it's not too far, and I could walk there and back to base without spending too much time."

"Ah, sure." Armin smiles, and Eren flashes a grin back as they begin walking. It feels so natural to each other, they don't even realize it at first when they make it to Armin's station. As soon as it hits them where they are, they laugh it off and Eren takes off. Armin sighs, and opens the door to the classroom to find Annie sitting at the desk up front, lazily looking out the window with half lidded eyes. Upon hearing the door open, her head whips around to look at Armin, eyes widening a little and the slightest hint of red painting her cheeks. "...Oh, hey Arlert," she says almost breathlessly.

"H-Hey, Annie." Armin flashes her a quick smile as blush begins to fade into his expression. "I didn't think you'd, uh...be here."

"...I didn't have anything to work on, and it's a snow day, so..." She relaxes and she shifts to looks more at him, head held up by her hand as she slumps over the table. "And it's warmer in here than in my station."

"Ah, ok..." Armin moves to sit down at the class desk closest to the front desk, Annie's eyes watching him as he does. As he settles in, he's reminded of their cadet days yet again, looking up at the chalkboard and thinking of all the things they learned in class. Sometimes it was a funny feeling for Armin to teach the same things he listened to so attentively as a teenager. He sighs wistfully, lost in thought, not paying attention to the expression he was making. He's brought back into reality by a cold voice piercing the silence in the classroom.

"...What's with that stupid grin?"

Armin looks up at Annie. She's looking out the window now, face redder than before, and a sharp grimace on her face. Armin blinks at her for a second, and giggles to himself. He's never seen her like this, so flustered. It's kind of cute.

...He's torn away from his admiration when a book hits him square in the forehead.

* * *

><p>Allllll right, now...with the direction this went, I think I have a pretty good idea for what the next chapter's gonna look like~ Stay tuned, everyone!<p> 


End file.
